Conveyer



Aug. 26, 1941. D. H. lMITCHELL CONVEYER 2 Sheets-'Sheet l Filed Aug. 26, 1939 /NVE/V TOR D. H. M/TCHELL mma/ww ATTORNEY Aug. 2s, 1,9411.

D. H. MITCHELL Filed Aug. 26, 1939 CONVEYER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG..?

Flo. 2

/NVE/VTOR D. H. Ml TCHELL "2R MLM A r r'omvfr Patented Aug. 26, 1941 CONVEYER Donald H. Mitchell, N eWark,'N. J., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, Ne

York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 26, 1939, seriai'No'. ,292,047v

(C1. 19a-ss) 6 Claims.

YI-his invention relates to conveyers, and more particularly to conveyers of the selector type for conveying containers for articles to selected sta-f tions.Vr

An object of the invention is to provide a I simple,. efficient and practical conveyer of the automatic selector type.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises a conveyer having associated conveyer units tortransport a container for articles to any of the multiplicity of locations by selectively locating contacts on the container to actuate certain selector elements as the container approaches a conveyer unit on which it is to be deflected, tomovel a deflector `arm in position, where it is automatically latched until the container is deected, at which time the delector arm isV released, the locking of the selector elements against'operation providing means to stop the container at any selected position.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the `following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 isa fragmentary perspective View of a portion ofaconveyer system illustrating the invention; Y

n Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational View of one of the selector elements, and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the conveyer mechanism.

Referring now to Figl of the drawings, numeral IIl designates generally a conveyer unit which, in the presentV instance, has a frame II rotatably supporting rollers I2 over which an endless conveyer belt I3 travels. The conveyer belt I3 is caused to'. travel in the direotion'of the arrow byY any suitable driving means. Thev frame l l may be mounted upon legs or any other suitable supporting means, the sides of the frame being angular in cross section and extending above the conveyer belt to serve as guides for containers such as the one illustrated at I4. Other conveyer units', such as that indicated generally atk l5, may be associated with the conveyer unit il! vto transport containers to any desired position or station. The conveyer unit I5 has a frame I6 similar in structure to the framek II.,v

having side angle members to rotatably support rollers I'I upon certain'oi which an endless belt I8 travels to continue the movement of the container. Should it be desirable to discontinue the travel of the container after it has been removed from the conveyer II) the endless belt I3 is not l neededgthe rollers Il serving as supports for the container.y

In order that the containerk may travel from the conveyer lII) to the 'conveyer I5 the portion of the frame Il at the juncture of the two conveyersv is out away and the frameIB of the conveyer I 5 is constructedto allow an arcuate movement of the container from Ytheconveyer Ill to thecOnVeyer I5. One side of the frame I6 extendsto and is secured to the adjacent portion of the frame I I, while ythe other portion of the frame I3 is cut away as 'at 2li.` At this portion a roller 2|, extending atxan angle of substantially 45 from each conveyer unit, has one end rotatably journalled in a bracket 22, the other end being suitably'journalled in a bracket (not shown) carried by the/frame II.

" Carriedby the container I4 is an apertured plate 25, the apertures 26 therein being disposed at predetermined spaced positions for receiving contacts 2T, the. latter having enlarged portions 28-torest upon the upper surface of the plate 24. The contacts' 21, when suitably positioned, will engage the spaced'portions 29 and 30 of a selector element 3|. toicause actuation of a mechanism to move a deflector armk 32 across the conveyer IIJ to ,cause the container to move from the conveyer I0 onto the conveyer I5.

The Vselector element 3| is rotatably mounted ona shaft 35 resting upon a head portion 36 of theshaft and normally positioned, with the portions 29 and 3U lyingin a plane transverse tothe direction of travel of the container,` by a spring 31, one end of which is xedto the shaft 35 while Ithe other end is connected to the selector element. The upper end of the shaft 35 is threadedly connected to asupport 38 and locked against rotation by any suitable means such as pin 39. The support 38 is apertured to receive a shaft 4! uponwhich the support is mounted and locked inany desired positionby a set screw 4I.

Vertically extending brackets 42 and 43 rigidly mounted in any suitable manner'on the frame I I have bearing portions` in their'upper ends for rotatablysupporting the shaft 40. rOne end of the shaft. ,40 has a lever .45 mounted thereon which extends downwardly and is pivotally con-V nected, at its lower end, to'a connecting rod 4B. The lever 45 is normally urged clockwise by a spring 43 to'return theselector element 3I and the deflectormarm 32 to their normal positions when the deflector mechanism is released after deflecting the container `from the conveyer I0 ontolth'e conveyer I5. Theforward or right end of the connecting rod46 is reduced to Vform a shaft-like portion 59 projecting downwardly through a bearing in a lever 5I, the latter being xedly mounted upon the lower end of the shaft 52. The shaft 52 extends upwardly through a bearing bracket 53 which is rigidly mounted on the frame II and has its upper end disposed in and iixed to a lug 55 carried by the deflector arm 32.

The mechanism thus described connects the deflector arm 32 to the selector element 3I so that movement of the selector element to rotate the shaft 49 will cause movement of the deflector arm transversely across the conveyer I0, to a position back of a latch 58, after riding over a tapered surface 51 of the latch, where it will be held until the latch is released.

The latch 58 is xed to a lever 59 and extends vertically through an aperture provided by slots in the adjacent portion of the frame I6 and a guide plate 69. The lever 59 is pivotally supported by a pivot pin BI carried ,by a bracket 62, the latter being supported by the frame I I, and has an arm 53 extending downwardly to support a pin 64 to which a spring 85 is connected for normally urging the lever together with the latch upwardly, An arm 51 mounted upon the free end of 4the lever 59 supports a roller `68 at its upper end and at a -position above the upper surface of the belt I8 so that it will be engaged by a container travelling on the rollers I1 to the belt.

Upon considering the operation of the mechanism described thus far, let it be assumed that the contacts 21 are properly positioned `to engage the portions 29 and 3 9 of the selector element 3 I. As the co-ntainer I4 moves in the direction of the arrow the contacts A21 will engage the portions 29 and 39 of the selectorelement and move the element counterclockwise to impart a similar movement yto the shaft 4D, and the lever 45. This movement of `the lever 45 will cause the connecting rod 46, through the lever 5I, to rotate the shaft 5.2 counterclockwise to swing the deflector .arm 32 across the conveyer I0 until the free end of the deflector arm has travelled over the ,tapered surface 51 of the latch 58, causing the latch to move downwardly with the lever 59 about lthe pivot 6I and against the tension of the spring 65 until the `free end of the deflector arm has moved past Vthe latch, where it comes to rest and is held in this position by the latch, the latter having been freed lto move upwardly by the force of the spring 65. Therefore, the movement of the container I4 carrying the properly positioned contacts 21 will cause actuation of the deector vmechanism as the container passes between the selector elements, thus automatically conditioning the deflector mechanism to deflect the container from the conveyer ID onto the conveyer I5.

. After the container I4 has passed a suitable distance on the conveyer I5 it travels over the roller 59, .causing downward movement of the arm 61 to move the lever 59 about its pivot and against the tension of the spring 65 to move the latch 58 free of the delector arm 32 and allow the spring 43 to return the deflector arm moving mechanism to its normal position, illustrated in Fig. l, thus positioning the selector element to be engaged by contacts on containers which are to be .transferred onto the conveyer I5.

The construction of the selector element 3| is suc-h that either one of Vthe contacts 21 may be disposed in a position to engage either projection 29 .or 35 without causing operation of the deflector mechanism. Let it be assumed, for example, that the contact 21 in the second aperture is removed, leaving the contact in the fifth aperture to engage the projection 39. The contact which has been removed may be disposed in one of the remaining apertures to form a combination suitable for another selector element. The container I4 for movement toward the selector element on the conveyer I9 with the contacts thus arranged will move the contact in the fth aperture in engagement with the projection of the selector element, causing the element to rotate about the shaft against the force of the spring 31 a suiiicient distance to allow the said contact to move thereby, after which the spring 31 will .return the selector element to its normal position. A similar action will take place when a contact is in the second aperture and the other contact is in another aperture other than the fifth, at which time the projection 29 will be engaged, moving the element in the opposite direction against the force of the spring. Therefore, unless the contacts 21 are at definite positions relative to the container the defiector mechanism will not be actuated and the same is true if less than the required number, this number in the present instance being two, of the contacts are disposed in the definite positions. In this manner the adjustment of the supports 38 at various Apositions throughout the control system which might have several conveyer units, su-ch adjustment being made 4to locate the selector elements at desired positions sc that the projections 29 and 39 will be engaged by contacts 21 when disposed at definite locations relative to the container to actuate only the Vdesired deector mechanism or mechanisms for guiding a container to a definite station.

The length of the projections 29 and 39 may be varied with variations in the length of the contacts 21 so that a greater number of combinations may be formed; for example, with three different lengths of projections 29 and 39 .and similar contacts therefor ninety different combinations may be formed.

At certain times it is desirable to stop containers at deiinite locations on the oonveyers so that an operator may move the container at that point. This may be accomplished by inserting a pin 19 in aligned apertures in the lever and the bracket 43 to lock the deflector mechanism against actuation. Therefore, if the contacts 21 are disposed in the definite apertures or positions to engage the projections 29 and 30 at this position the container will be stopped on the conveyer. Such mechanism is also desirable when the branch conveyer units such as I5 have become filled with containers, thus holding the containers on the conveyer I9 until those in conveyer I5 have been removed. This means is also illustrated in Fig. 3 and is capable of stopping the containers at desired positions other than the adjacent juncture of the conveyer units. 'Ilhis mechanism consists of brackets 12 and 13, similar to the brackets 42 and 43, rigidly secured to a frame 15 of a conveyer 16 and rotatably supporting, at their upper ends, a shaft 11. A support 18, identical with they support 38, is adjustably located upon shaft 11 and held in place by set screw 19. A shaft 80, carried by a support, has a selector element 8| rotatably disposed therein and normally held in a position transverse to the conveyer by a spring 82. A lever 83 mounted upon one end of the shaft 11, has an aperture in the lower end thereof for receiving a pin 84, the latter being receivable in an aperture inthe bracket 13, to lock the lever against movement. Therefore, with this structure it is possible, by the insertion of the pin Sli in the aperture oi the lever 83 and the bracket i3, to hold the selector element 8l against movement and thus stop a container having the contacts 2l disposed at definite positions against movement on the conveyer '16.

The embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are illustrative only and may be widely modified and departed from in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out in and limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is;

l. A conveyer system comprising a deiiecting mechanism including a deflector movable between a normal position and a deecting position, a rock shaft operatively connected to the deflecter, an arm projecting from the rock shaft, and a selector pivotally supported by the arm and having projections disposed at opposite sides of the arm to cause movement of the arm and the shaft to move the deflector into its defiecting position when a plurality of the projections is engaged by a moving object.

2. A conveyer system comprising a deilecting mechanism including a deflector movable between a normal position and a deiiecting position, a rock shaft operatively connected to the defiector, an arm projecting from the rock shaft, and a selector pivotally supported by the arm and having projections disposed at opposite sides of the arm to cause movement of the arm and the shaft to move the deflector into its deflecting position when a plurality of the projections is engaged by amoving object but pivoted on the arm when only one projection is engaged by a moving object.

3. A conveyer system comprising a deiiecting mechanism including a defiector movable between a normal position and a deflecting position, a rock shaft operatively connected to the deeotor, an arm projecting from the rock shaft, and a selector pivotally supported by the arm and having projections disposed at opposite sides of the arm to cause movement of the arm and the shaft to move the deiiector into its deflecting position when a plurality of the projections is engaged by a moving object but pivoted on the arm when any one projection is engaged by a moving object.

4. A conveyer system comprising a deflecting mechanism including a deiiector movable between a normal position and a deilecting position, a rock shaft operatively connected to the delector, an arm projecting from the rock shaft, a selector pivotally supported by the arm and having projections disposed at opposite sides of ,the arm to cause movement of the arm and the shaft to move the deiiector into its deflecting position when a plurality of the projections is engaged by a moving object, and means to normally hold the selector to position the projections in a plane transverse to a path of the moving object.

5. A conveyer system comprising a deflecting mechanism including a deiiector movable between a normal position and a defle'cting position, a rock shaft operatively connected to the defiector, an arm projecting from the rock shaft, a selector pivotally supported by the arm and having projections disposed at opposite sides of the arm to cause movement of the arm and the shaft to move the deflector into its deflecting position when a plurality of the projections is engaged by a moving object but pivotally moved in either direction on .the arm when any one projection is engaged by a moving object, and means to return the selector to a normal position after pivotal movement in either direction.

6. A conveyer system 'comprising a deiiecting '1, mechanism including a deflector movable be- Itween a normal position and a defiecting position, a rock shaft operatively connected to the deflector, an arm projecting from the rock shaft, a selector pivotally supported by the arm and having projections disposed at opp-osite sides of the arm to cause movement of the arm and the shaft to move the deflector into its deflecting position when a plurality of the projections is engaged by a moving object, and means to secure the arm to the shaft at selected variable positions to vary the position of the selector relative to the path of the object.

DONALD H. MITCHELL. 

